10/26/12 ASCE's Civil Engineering Magazine 1/3 www.asce.org/CEMagazine/Articlens.aspx?id=23622321687 About ASC E About C ivil E ngineering Donate Now My ASCE Shop ASCE Almere will be dev elope d as a tapestry of garde ns on a square-shaped peninsula, each block devoted to different types of plants. © MVRDV View Ca rt You are not logged in. Login Curr ent Print Issue Archive I ssues HOME ABOUT CE MAGA ZI NE SUBMISSION ADVERTISE ASCE NEWS BUYERS' GUIDE CAREER CONNECTIONS S earch Online CE Magazi ne (Au gust to Se arc h text. .. Se arch High Concept Wins in the Low Countries By Steve Goldstein Designed by the Dutch firm MVRDV, the new “Green City” in the Netherlands will be built on a 111-acre peninsula and will include housing, offices, and an extensive “librar y” of plants. © MVRDV An ecologically rich “green city” is set to bloom in the Netherlands. October 23, 2012—A “Green City” designed to exist sustainably in accordance with stringent env ironmental standar ds is to be built west of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, as an expansion of the municipality of Almere. The Dutch architecture and design firm MVDRV, which specializes in green urba n projects, architecture, and landscape architecture, is leading the project, which will be built on a 45 ha peninsula extend ing fro m the A lmere city center into Lake IJssel. “We dream of making green cities—c ities t hat are green as well as ecological, that produce food and ene rgy, that clean [their] own water, recyc le waste, and hold gre at biodiversity,” said Winy Maas, FAIA, one of MVRDV’s three cofounders, who responded in writing to questions posed by Civil Engineering online. Maas said he imagines “a symbiotic world of people, plants, and animals” for the development. The catalyst for the new green city is Floriade 2022, an international exhibition of flowers and gardening held every 10 years in the Netherlands. Almere was chosen by the Nederlandse Tuinbouwraad (Dutch Horticultural Council) from among four competing Dutch cities to host the exposition. But rather than create a temporary site, MVRDC’s winning design is the “Cité Idéale,” a per manent construction that will serv e as a green extension to the cit y center of Almere, the y oung est c ity i n the Netherlands, according to project manager Jeroen Zuidgeest, who answered questions from Civil Engineering online in writing. Collaborating architects and structural engineers will be selected within the next few months, Zuidgeest said. The financing for the main infrastructure—for example, roads, bridges, and plantations—is covered by the Dutch government, while the development of all local elements and the exhibition area comes from the municipality of Almere and the Prov ince of Flev oland. Costs will be off set by real estate sales on the land f ollowing the e xhibition. The square-shaped peninsula will be developed as a new urban neighborhood incorporating an extensive plant “library” that will remain after the expo. The new city is expected to house about 1,500 residents in 600 dwellings and to also contain office space, a university, a marina, greenhouses, recreation areas, and significant commercial development. Zuidgeest said there will be a rose garden, a lily pond fo r swimming, and a so-called jasmine hotel: “A hotel wrapped in jasmine trees, wher e you will sleep fantastic because of the s mell,” he explained. The university will be organized as a stacked botanical garden, a vertical ecosystem in which each classroom will have a different climate conducive to growing specific plants. The residential area will offer homes in orchards, and offices will feature planted interiors. Parks of bamboo are also contemplated. The city plan aspires to be “300 percent greener than the standard,” said Zuidgeest. “This means developing green neighborhoods in the widest sense, with an overwhelming richness and differentiation of trees, plants, and flowers, a stimulating environment for biodiversity.” Zuidgeest said the development will recycle materials, water, and wastewater on-site, and will showcase innovative methods for producing food and energy, “all embedded in an urban context in a synergetic, even symbiotic manner.” Zuidgeest said there are no special geographic obstacles or conditions affecting construction. The development follows the existing shorelines and islands of Lake